HOYER SAYS DEMOCRATS WILL FIGHT TO REPLACE HOUSE TAX PLOY WITH SENATE BILL

If Rule to Consider House Ploy on Child Tax Credit is Defeated, Senate Tax Bill Will Immediately Be Brought to the Floor

For Immediate Release:

June 11, 2003

Contact:Stacey Farnen202-225-3130

WASHINGTON – House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today regarding efforts to defeat the rule that will allow the child credit tax ploy unveiled last night by Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas to be considered on the House Floor on Thursday as expected, if the rule does not allow for consideration of the Senate passed bill. If the rule is defeated, House proponents of the bipartisan Senate bill to expand the child tax credit increase to include low-income working families will bring that bill to the Floor, quickly pass it and immediately send it to the President to become law.

“Everyone seems to agree that reversing the deliberate exclusion by Republican leaders of working and military families from the child tax credit increase in the recently passed tax package should be done already – the Senate voted with overwhelming bipartisan support to fix it [94 to 2], the President has seen the light and has asked the House to quickly pass the Senate bill, and Democrats have been fighting for this from the beginning.

“The only people in this town holding up the program are the radical Republican House leadership.

“Democrats are going to work to fight this ploy tooth and nail and defeat the rule that would allow its consideration.

“Chairman Thomas says that they aren’t playing politics – wrong, that is exactly what they are doing. House Republican leaders are sending this bill to be bogged down in a conference committee with a Senate that doesn’t have the votes to pass the House bill. They are playing politics with money destined to help kids of working and military families.

“This is playing politics at its worst, and the only ones interested in playing the game seem to be the radical House Republican leadership.”